Hello there, young friends! 

I'm Lanny, and I'm an inventor. 

Do you know what that means?

It is someone who loves to create things that can help make people's lives better, easier, and more fun! 

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, on December 13, 1955, and grew up in Brownsville. My parents supported my passion for inventing, which helped fuel my creativity from a young age.

When I was five, my dad gave me some discarded electronics to tinker with. To his surprise, I connected the components and made a light bulb light up and a bell ring!

"That's when I realized I had a passion for science and technology. One day, I invented a toy that could move on its own. I called it the 'Zoomer.' It was a little car that could drive around without anyone controlling it. My friends loved it, and I knew I had something special."  

The day came when I was ready to show my creation to the world. I entered it in a robotics competition, and to my amazement, it won first prize! Everyone was impressed with my invention.

 I  felt so proud knowing I had made a difference in someone's life.

In middle school, I wanted to go to George Westinghouse High School. However, my life changed after I talked to a counselor. The counselor said, "You won't go to George Westinghouse. You're going to go to Brooklyn Tech." " if you go to Westinghouse, it would be okay, and you will become an electrician. But if you go to  Brooklyn Technical High School, you will become an electrical engineer.

 I eventually went to Brooklyn Tech and graduated from there. 

  Then, I earned a full scholarship to complete my bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering at Columbia University.

I always wanted to attend college, and it was the best way to learn more about science and technology. However, becoming an engineer as a black was a challenging experience for me. Growing up in a tough neighborhood with limited resources, my family didn't have a lot of income. I didn't have any role models in engineering. I  

I had never seen a Black engineer until I almost was one!

 Then, I got a job at a company called Bell Labs. We invented all sorts of things, like the transistor (a tiny part that makes computers work), the laser (which is used in all kinds of things, like CDs and barcode scanners), and even the cell phone!